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Guilford school board weighs in on tax-related ballot measures

Guilford school board
Courtesy Guilford County Schools
Guilford County Schools board members met on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The Guilford County Board of Education passed two resolutions Tuesday urging voters to consider how tax-related ballot measures could impact public schools.

The first resolution pertains to a quarter-cent local sales tax referendum to fund educator salary supplements in Guilford County Schools.

The tax would mean shoppers pay an additional 25 cents on every $100 of eligible purchases. It would generate an estimated $30 million every year.

This resolution passed unanimously, though board members like Alan Sherouse noted that the tax increase shouldn’t be the only solution.

“We need it. We need to do whatever we can," Sherouse said. "But I hope every one of us that votes for this will also be advocating and demanding that our state legislature do what is needed, which is to fund on a much larger level.”

The second resolution outlines objections to two proposed constitutional amendments that board members say could reduce education funding.

One would cap the state income tax rate, and the other would limit local property tax increases.

The board passed the resolution 8-1. Linda Welborn was the lone no vote, citing concerns about burdening property owners.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.